AllMusic Review: n the 15 months between the release of Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere and After the Gold Rush, Neil Young issued a series of recordings in different styles that could have prepared his listeners for the differences between the two LPs. His two compositions on the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young album Déjà Vu, “Helpless” and “Country Girl,” returned him to the folk and country styles he had pursued before delving into the hard rock of Everybody Knows; two other singles, “Sugar Mountain” and “Oh, Lonesome Me,” also emphasized those roots. But “Ohio,” a CSNY single, rocked as hard as anything on the second album. After the Gold Rush was recorded with the aid of Nils Lofgren, a 17-year-old unknown whose piano was a major instrument, turning one of the few real rockers, “Southern Man” (which had unsparing protest lyrics typical of Phil Ochs), into a more stately effort than anything on the previous album and giving a classic tone to the title track, a mystical ballad that featured some of Young’s most imaginative lyrics and became one of his most memorable songs. But much of After the Gold Rush consisted of country-folk love songs, which consolidated the audience Young had earned through his tours and recordings with CSNY; its dark yet hopeful tone matched the tenor of the times in 1970, making it one of the definitive singer/songwriter albums, and it has remained among Young’s major achievements. — William Ruhlmann
Track Listing
- Side one
- “Tell Me Why” – 2:54
- “After the Gold Rush” – 3:45
- “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” – 3:05
- “Southern Man” – 5:41
- “Till the Morning Comes” – 1:17
- Side two
- “Oh, Lonesome Me” – 3:47
- “Don’t Let It Bring You Down” – 2:56
- “Birds” – 2:34
- “When You Dance I Can Really Love” – 3:44
- “I Believe in You” – 2:24
- “Cripple Creek Ferry” – 1:34
Schill Score: 7/10
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